Walter Football Grades Giants Free Agency So Far

Walter Football has gone through and graded several of the Giants free agency moves, here’s what they had to say:

Giants re-sign ILB Jon Beason (3 years, $19M; $7M guaranteed): C Grade
You know that when many praise an agent for getting a great deal for his client, the team got screwed over. That’s what happened here. Jon Beason has a very extensive injury history, so the Giants could easily regret this contract in the near future. Beason isn’t even that good anymore when healthy. Beason was a huge liability this past season in coverage. He was consistently abused, as he’s no longer the same player because of the many maladies he’s incurred over the years. He’s still good in run support, but New York is paying too much money for a linebacker who should only be playing two downs at this point in his career. The Giants should consider themselves lucky if Beason even gives them 12 games in 2014.

I flat out don’t agree with this assessment of Beason, he controls the middle of the defense, he brought a renewed energy to the defense, he’s a tremendous run stopping LB that can sniff our the run very well — his only knock is getting lost in space as a WR or TE pass defender… pretty typical as far as Giants LBs have played over the years. And with the 3 safety look that is not only on Beason or any LB, it’s more on the secondary coming up and stoping that 15 yard post route in the middle of the field. If we can stop the run, get a bit of pressure from our DL, and our secondary can play well — we’ll be back to 2011 Playoff form. Scary good.

Giants sign RB Rashad Jennings (4 years, $14M; $3M guaranteed): B Grade
Rashad Jennings disappointed in 2012 when he had a shot to start once Maurice Jones-Drew got hurt. He thrived in Oakland, however, surprising everyone. The Giants are buying a bit high here, but the money is pretty fair for a player who could be New York’s starting running back in 2014. This is a solid signing for New York.

I think this is a fair grade, but we know Jennings played well against the Giants and our guys tend to remember those players. I like his quickness, breakaway upside, and the physicality.

Giants sign G/OT Geoff Schwartz (4 years, $16.8M; $6.2M guaranteed): B Grade
While the Redskins and Bills were offering scrubs like Shawn Lauvao and Chris Williams around $5 million guaranteed, the Giants managed to ink a far superior player at the same position for just a bit more. Geoff Schwartz missed all of 2011 with a hip injury. He didn’t start in the first half of this past season, but was dominant in the second half. Thus, the money is right for him. The plan for Schwartz is to have him play right tackle, while Justin Pugh moves to the blind side. If William Beatty can somehow make it back from his injury, either Pugh or Schwartz will slide inside and fill the void at guard.

This is an A grade due to Schwartz’ versatility. I don’t think the Giants overpaid here at all.

Giants re-sign S Stevie Brown (1 year, $4 million): A Grade
Stevie Brown is a talented safety, but any team that signed him to a long-term deal this offseason would have been taking a risk because he happens to be coming off a torn ACL. The Giants completely eliminated that risk with this contract. I love 1-year “prove it” deals like this. They almost always work. The Giants are going to be able to retain Brown’s great services at a cheap price, and they’re also going to get Brown at his best, as he tries to showcase why he deserves to be handed a big contract next spring.

I actually think this is a B grade. We don’t know how Brown’s knee will respond this year and it’s a lot to pay a guy coming off that kind of injury. Our safety position is now nicely rounded out though.